Plastic Recycling

According to the Clean Up Australia, plastics are most common litter found on their Clean Up Australia Day. In fact, Australian's use 1.3 millions tonnes of plastic each year. While it would be great if even a fraction of that could be diverted away from land fill and into recycling centres, how many times have you looked at the bottom of a plastic container, saw the triangle with the arrows and a number in the middle and thought "Is a number 4 recyclable? Can I put it in my kerbside rubbish? "

What about bottle recycling schemes like the one used in South Australia? If your lucky enough to live in S.A. you can take advantage of making a deposit. If not, what are your options?

Somewhat frustratingly, a plastic's ability to be recycled differs from council to council. Although is it possible for all plastics to be recycled, limitations on kerbside recycling programs simply do not accommodate for all seven types of plastic. It is quite important to be aware of what can and can't be recycled as contamination of plastic disposed of through kerbside recycling increase the costs to all involved.

There are some simple measure you can take to ensure contamination does not occur. Obviously, it begins with understanding what can and can't be recycled. Refer to the table below for details. Once you know if the plastic is an accepted plastic, prepare the plastics for recycling - be sure to rinse all residue from any bottles, jars and containers and remove all labels and lids.

Planet Ark, in co-operation with Sensis, have created a fantastic website called Recycling Near You. Here you are able to easily investigate what your local council offers in terms of recycling programs. Alternatively, call the National Recycling Hotline on 1300 733 712 for any recycling enquires.

aToMik Green is setting up WREX (Waste and Resource Exchange) inspired by our own waste re-use and resource swapping with our warehouse neighbour. WREX allows businesses and individuals with a way to reduce landfill and resource consumption. WREX works on the traditional classified ads theory - you post your ad and wait for someone to respond to it. The entire process, including the handing over your waste to the next person, is a free process.

What does it mean?		Common Uses	Kerbside Recyclable?	Plastic Facts
	Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)	Soft drink bottles Some juice bottles Water bottles Oven-ready meal trays Some plastic jars such as jam or peanut butter	Yes, Always	Usually clear, although can be tinted with colour. Resistant to pressure and heat. This plastic contains Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA can be absorbed into the body and is a health concern because it behaves as a endocrine distrupter by mimicing the bodies' hormones. This is of particular concern for babies and young children who's bodies are growing at a much faster rate to adults and are more susceptible to changes. Read more on BPA here. BPA has also been linked to tumors, kidney problems and premature puberty in lab tests.
	High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)	Milk bottles Some juice bottles Cream containers Washing liquid containers Some shampoo bottles Butter and yoghurt tubs	Yes, always	Normally translucent. Very resistant to chemical corrosion but are easily recycled.
	Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)	Food trays Cling film Some shampoo bottles Food packaging: Eg: strawberry punnet	Most councils now accept PVC plastics through kerbside recycling, however it is recommended you contact you local council to confirm.	Very versatile that can be rigid or flexible. Used as packaging, insulation, carpeting, clothing, pipes and window frames. PVC is well known to be the least recyclable of all plastics mainly because virgin PVC is cheaper than recycled PVC. It is a major factor in considering the 'green'ness of double-glazing with PVC framed units. It has adverse health effects regarding BPA, DEHP and phthalates and their connections to human development. Read up here.
	Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)	Shopping Bags Bin Liners (surprisingly) Squeezable Bottles Toilet Seats (we just had to replace one, so we know this)	These days it is probable that your council will accept LDPE plastics for recycling, however it is still recommended you contact your local council to confirm. If it is not accepted, avoid or re-use this plastic where possible.	Tough, flexible and clear. Good for plastic films. Although recyclable, in the past Australia hasn't had a large enough input to warrant a fullscale recycling facility of LDPE shopping bags. They do have such plants in China, but how environmental is it to ship by the container load the single-use plastic bags Australian shoppers used for recycling? Fortunately, you can now recycle your single use plastic bags at shopping outlets such as Woolworths making recycling easy and widely available.
	Polypropylene (PP)	Takeaway Food Containers Margarine Tubs Microwaveable Meal Trays Buckets Drinking Straws	These days it is probable that your council will accept PP plastics for recycling, however it is still recommended you contact your local council to confirm. If it is not accepted, avoid or re-use this plastic where possible.	PP is strong and has a high melting point. Ideal for containers that need to hold hot liquid - for example Keep Cups. Also used for bottles for medicine and tomato sauce. This plastic is food and liquid safe and does NOT leach the toxins some other plastics do. Widely considered a safe, good plastic.
	Polystyrene (PS)	Old Hamburger packaging Disposable Cups, plates and cutlery CD cases Foam meat or fish trays 3D glasses from Village Cinemas	These days it is possible that your council will accept PS plastics for recycling, however it is still recommended you contact your local council to confirm. If it is not accepted, avoid or re-use this plastic where possible.	Versatile in either a rigid or foamed form. Also known as Styrofoam, used as protective packaging for fragile items. Often found as a tray for meat or vegetables for pre-packaged items in the supermarket. If your council does not accept this to recycle (likely), make an effort to avoid these prepackaged items and take your fregies for veggies and request butchers paper at the deli for meat. It's normally cheaper to go for the fresh, loose vegetables and deli meat too.
	Other Plastics	Any other plastics that do not fall into any of the above categories. An example is melamine, which is often used in plastic plates and cups.	Occasionally. Contact your local council to confirm.	Although these MAY have the advantage of being made from recycled materials, they inherit all of the associated risks from these plastics too. Without knowing which plastics were used, you have to assume it could be any of them. This means you can assume it to contain BPA, phthalates and other leaching chemicals. Really try to avoid this one.

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